


Good boy

by ButanolMusket (EthanolMusket)



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Oneshot, Other, Torture, implied rape, judal centric, juhaku towards the end, nailripping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-12 14:21:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7937944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EthanolMusket/pseuds/ButanolMusket
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Judal learns being a good boy is a way to avoid the nightmares, but is that what he really wants? Rotting seems more appealing each day</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good boy

**Author's Note:**

> This is how I envision Judal's childhood in Al Thamen. This contains torture, implied rape, psychological manipulation to an underage so be warned. It's nothing too explicit, but the warnings and tags are clear and wanted to use this space as yet another warning. Proceed under your own will.

 

Judal is a good boy. He is just two years old yet he can cast some water magic already, he can make the liquid dance around and even summon a relatively large amount of it in not a long time. His teachers and caretakers are proud of him as they praise him endlessly everyday he shows them his magic. Judal doesn’t understand what they mean with ‘magi’ nor ‘chosen one’, he is a little boy that likes the attention he gets when he does these things, he loves how the fluttering little white birds float around him chirping and kissing his face. “Such a good boy you are!” the veiled magicians claim happily.

* * *

 

Judal is a good boy. At three years old he accompanies them to meet his king vessels. He still can’t hold that concept in his young mind, but follows them around nonetheless, his small hand tightening around the magician Falan’s one, as he looks around the palace of Partevia. There are a lot of black birds fluttering along the white ones, these are quieter, more somber, but they fly around him, some landing on his little shoulder, serenading him with a slow, yet soothing chirping. Judal doesn’t mind the color of the birds, he loves them and he knows they love him. But deep inside he feels trapped, and the birds are the only ones that understand that, he could never tell Falan nor Ithnan…they would look at him in disappointment, and he is striving to be good. The small child sits beside the next heir in line to the throne, Barbarossa, feet dangling in the air as he yawns. “Bar, your rukh is noisy” Falan smiles at him. That action pleases her and Judal’s happy he’s a good boy again.

 

* * *

 

 

Judal is a curious boy. He can control ice and is learning his lightning magic. He can’t wait to learn to fly, he wants to soar through the sky with the birds, they call them rukh, he thinks ‘birds’ is a more fitting name, anyways. He wants to go out to play, but he can’t leave the place alone, not yet, they keep telling him. He runs through the dark halls looking for Falan or Ithnan when he hears pitched sobbing coming from one of the big doors, which isn’t completely closed. Children are curious and so he steps and peeks inside the room. There’s a woman in some sort of circle, the magicians are chanting something, he can see the blood spilling from her, her rukh flying erratically as it is taken from her. He flinches, and steps back just to bump into one of the veiled magicians.

“Magi do you need anything?” he asks coldly, as Judal turns to the room, the woman is not moving anymore and the rukh has been trapped in a crystal sphere.

“Her rukh was acting strange just some moments ago” he comments almost absentmindedly, worried about the trapped birds, not understanding the woman had been murdered in a ritual, he just focuses on the rukh, he doesn’t want to remember the terror in her eyes, it was too much for him to try and understand, so he decides to ignore it.

“The rukh is fine, magi, please go back to your chambers, I’ll inform Falan to look for you” the magician bows slightly and walks away.

Judal does as he is told, walking slowly to his room, the rukh buzzing around him, uneasy, he quickly climbs on his bed and does his best to fall asleep, does his best to block out the terror and agony in the woman’s eyes, the crying of her rukh. But his best isn’t quite enough.

Judal is not a good boy today.  He walks shyly to Ithnan and tugs at his robes, the man looks down to see the small boy in a way of acknowledging his presence.

“Ithnan, why must we kill those people?” he asks curiously, but isn’t able to read Ithnan’s expression, his eyes look blank and the mask doesn’t help at all.

“Why are you asking such a thing, magi? You shouldn’t bother with that, you should focus on learning your magic and practicing to become the strongest sorcerer ever, Judal”

Judal fidgets with the tip of his braid a bit nervously. “But is it necessary? The rukh is so scared and...”

“And?”

“It cries...”

“Do not ask yourself these questions, magi, you know what you have to do as a chosen sorcerer of creation,  that is all you need to think about, only that and nothing else”

Judal nods slowly and without more, leaves for his room, even if that’s their answer, he still can’t help but linger in thought about that.

* * *

 

Judal is a bad boy today. He is walking through one of those strange, dark corridors looking for Falan, when he hears a terrified scream. His eyes lock on the door where he hears cries and sobs, and the rukh crying again, he steps slowly to the looming, gigantic, red door, his small hand reaching for the doorknob, turning it slowly. It opens easily, and inside he can see a mother and her children crying, their hands and ankles are bound, dry blood scattered through their clothing. His red eyes stare lazily at them, who look at him in shock, until they see it’s a child.

“Please...little one...please help me and my children” the woman pleads. “Please...you’d understand...”

“I don’t have a mother” Judal continues, as he approaches them. “Your rukh...is crying...poor little ones...” he extends his hand and reaches a small bird, which lands on his chest, his wings fluttering slowly.

“...I’m doing this for them, not for you” he makes his mind up, and raises his wand, the chains on the woman and children bursting. She looks at him in surprise, standing up and carrying her youngest child, extending her hand to him.

“Come with me, a good boy like you doesn’t deserve to be with these monsters! Let’s go out, together”

His eyes widen, it is a first for him, monsters? Why would they be, they are just normal people working, aren’t they? This woman is making no sense, yet a part of him screams to take her hand and run away. But another part tells him it’s impossible, he belongs with them, he is a magi.

“You better go before they get you” he says expressionless and turns to leave. The woman loses no more time to disappear through the dark hall, he hopes she manages to go out, he hates to see the rukh sad, he doesn’t care about her, but those birds crying is what he can’t stand.

Judal returns to his chambers, closing the door silently behind him, hoping he doesn’t get in trouble, how could he? He is a magi, right? Everything is all right for him…

…but it is not, he knows it when the veiled magicians open the door without asking, when he sees their rukh buzzing like that, he knows they are angry, and for the first time, he feels something close to fear when they enter his room without his permission.

“Magi...you did something reckless...”

“What is the meaning of this, magi?...do you know who you are and your important role in the world?”

Judal looks down, does it matter what he’ll tell them? They wouldn’t listen, would they? But he is a magi, so what right do they have to tell him anything?

“Go away, I want to sleep” he mutters and sits on his bed.

Of course he is not getting away easily, and he understands that when he is dragged forcefully out of his chambers, they pull his hand, his hair, his clothes, no matter how he tells them to stop, as they throw him in a dark chamber, making him sit on a chair and strapping him to it, his little hand resting on the table.

“Judal...do you understand your behavior?” another veiled man appears in front of him.

“You don’t tell me, a magi, what to do!” he snaps back and struggles. “This is ridiculous, let me go!”

“Why did you let them go? Answer”

“The rukh was sad! It was crying! I don’t like them to be sad!” he whines. “Now, let go!”

“Magi…you need to trust us, you don’t need to worry...you only need to be a good boy, it isn’t hard, be a good boy and you’ll have everything you want” he continues with a saccharine, sickening voice.

“I am not your slave! You serve me, I am a magi!” he resumes the struggling.

“You fucking brat, so rotten spoiled but what are we to do? Oh, educate you! That we can do!” the man grabs a strange, metallic device and puts Judal’s little hand inside. “A lesson needs to be learned, lord magi”

“What are you doing?!” Judal stares in disbelief, pulling his hand in vain, he isn’t sure what the other has in store, but he surely doesn’t want to have anything to do with it.

“Just a small lesson, _lord magi_ ” the man places his finger in the strange contraption, which happens to be a nail ripper, his fingernail is secured between the metal cage while a small lever is placed under his nail.

His red eyes widen as he looks up at the man, growing paler against all odds.

“This is not funny anymore...let me go” his voice falters, his body shakes, they are just scaring him, there’s no way they’d do this to a magi, a wizard of creation! There’s just no way…

The man smiles, a wicked grin, and Judal meets fear for the first time in his short life, he presses the lever and the nail snaps almost immediately from the finger, fresh blood spilling over the table and a stinging, painful sensation like no other he has experienced, the boy screams in terror and pain.

“W-why?! Why did you do it?! I’m going to tell Falan! You’ll get fired!” he is crying, fear and anger welling in his body, as he struggles more violently than before, the pain is almost unbearable.

“Seems you’re still defiant, lord magi” the man moves his hand, preparing the middle finger now.

“You wouldn’t! Don’t do it!” again, fear overtakes anger as Judal shudders.

Without any advice, the fingernail is sent off flying, the second scream is louder as he starts crying inconsolably.

“Poor little boy, but you need to understand your place, are you ready for the next one?” the man moves his little hand to the next finger as Judal starts screaming in utter horror.

“Please! I understood! Please stop! I’ll be good! I promise! I will trust you, I will! I won’t do stupid things, please!” he hiccups and looks down, his hair hiding his face.

“You poor little thing, we just want the best for you, it seems you have learned your lesson...”

“I have! I promise! I won’t tell Falan! I won’t let people go! I’ll be a good boy! I’ll be good-“

The third fingernail is torn apart, another shriek, but this time the boy turns to his side, empting his stomach on the floor, sobbing loudly, luckily for him, he starts feeling lightheaded and dizzy, everything seems distant, he can hear the man calling his name, urging him to stay awake, but his consciousness vanishes with himself.

He wakes up in his bed, he sits up quickly, the soft blankets feel good against him, and it feels a bit safe to be in his room. He pulls his hand out from underneath the covers gingerly, afraid to see the damage, but is quite surprised when he sees his hand is untouched. He lifts it and studies it, but nothing seems strange, all his nails are in place. Those shocking memories seem hazy and surreal in his head, like a distant thing, he can hardly recollect anything that happened, a vivid, feverish dream it seems.

“A nightmare...” he says to himself calmly, letting himself fall back into his bed. “Just a nightmare…” he laughs awkwardly to himself, of course, there is no way anyone would treat a magi like that...is there? He is deep in thought, it’s better if he doesn’t find out.

Some time passes, and it’s strange, whenever Judal is a bad boy, he keeps getting these strange, painful and realistic nightmares that he barely recollects, as if a thick veil is put between him and his memories. One day he refuses to kill a child from a village because he wants to play with him, because he likes how free the other is and wants to know more about him. He is dragged to a room made of stone where the floor is frozen water; then he is stripped from his robes and thrown in there. He screams and cries and begs for forgiveness but they don’t come for him. Other times he is whipped, suffocated, and tickled until he is screaming and crying. Each and every time he wakes up in his bed, clutching his covers closely to his body and sobbing into them, convincing himself those events can’t be real, he is a magi, so everybody looks up to him and admire. Whenever that happens he feels detached, a bad lucid dream that seems too eerily real but it is not, is like being on bed and being able to look at everything but being paralyzed, unable to stop anything. Lucid dreams can be horrifying.

And how can those things be real when they come for him, bathe him in a huge bath tub that looks more like a fancy pool filled with the finest scented herbs in existence, scrub his body tenderly, fix his hair and dress him in the finest silk? When they don’t scold him when he refuses to eat his vegetables and just eats fruit? They do all he wants, so it’s all right…

He learns the way of avoiding the nightmares is to be a good boy, how hard can it be? After all, they give him all he wants and let him do as he pleases. The nightmares are just a karmic punishment for misbehaving, he convinces himself.

* * *

 

Judal is a very good boy, as his red eyes stare at the desolation that is now the Kingdom of Sindria, smoke rises everywhere, people cry and crawl and die before him. The feeling in his chest seems almost absent as he witnesses these events. When he arrives home, everyone praises him for being a good magi, for this world’s sake, for Al Thamen. A feast is presented to him as well as a big celebration. He is only a child, but he is allowed to drink, the taste of alcohol is bitter to his mouth, but he chugs it all down nonetheless, the vivid screams and stench of burning flesh in his mind diminish the more he drinks from that horrid stuff. He doesn’t sleep alone tonight, for he is such a good boy he is rewarded with some company, which he would rather not be with, but in the dark of his room and the dizziness all over him, the cold touch to his body is easily overlooked.

They don’t bother him the next morning, they allow him to sleep all day, and Judal is grateful for that, it is easier to keep his mind blank this way, loneliness is supposed to lead to some unwelcomed introspection, but standing around those guys makes it worse. The black birds flutter around him loudly, he swaps his hand lazily and tells them to be quiet, surprisingly, the birds’ buzzing melt into a soft, eerie choir that drags him into the deepest slumber he has ever been in.

* * *

 

 

Judal is not a very good boy, he is getting tall and he feels like an adult at his fourteen years of age. He strolls through the halls nonchalantly, he knows he has to be in a meeting but he doesn’t care. Ithnan tells him he shouldn’t be so selfish even if he is a lord magi, Markkio tells him he’s got to stop ignoring the emperor like that. The magi shoves them off and jumps to the nearest tree, and if they keep annoying him, he uses his magic carpet and flies off to a place more pleasant, or quiet at least. Some of Al Thamen magicians dare call him spoiled, but he flashes them his blinding, white grin and tells them, no, ‘reminds’ them he is a magi and he can do whatever he pleases. Spoiled, rotten, apathetic...he’s been called these names lately, so it means he hasn’t been very good. But his magic skills have advanced impressively, growing stronger day by day. Even Gyokuen acknowledges his strength, and he thinks it’s a bit funny, even if he’s been a bad boy lately, the nightmares have not returned…

He tries not to linger in those thoughts, probably those nightmare are just childhood things, nothing more, nothing less. But deep down he knows. Deep down he is beginning to understand. He feels he gets closer and closer to the truth sometimes, but when he reaches his hand to grasp it, he forgets what he is doing. These amnesia flashes are constant whenever he questions his position and the magicians’ real business. He is a teenager and decides he has more important things to do than fry his brain with trivial matters like that. Bothering Kougyoku is more fun, talking with Kouen is more fun, looking for Hakuryuu to invite him to a dungeon even if he always gets rejected is more fun than running a fool’s errand.

* * *

 

Judal is a rotten boy, he betrays Al Thamen. After being all those years with them, after they have cared for him, clothed him, fed him, he repays them with treason. And he loves every part of it. Still the veil between reality and memories is set there, still he forgets things, he wonders if that’s a secondary effect for all those years of living in the dark, but it doesn’t matter anymore. He is not alone anymore. He has finally found his other half. He loves taking Hakuryuu to a special dungeon, training besides him with his new powers even when he feels he is walking on a tightrope that is his sanity and it’s about to snap. He doesn’t care, he finally opens the cage and breathes fresh air, he pulls his chain from their hands and is more than willing to give it to his new king, he feels joy in doing so, he feels joy they share something unique and that he is finally needed. They have the same goal and it seems more attainable each day.  

* * *

 

 Judal is a happy boy. He is elated he has found his fallen king, he trusts him with everything he has, he will follow him to the ends of time if necessary, he will break the world for him, he will rebuild the world for him, he’ll make a carpet tinted crimson with the blood of their foes all the way to the throne on the top of the world. Hakuryuu’s wishes are his desires, it is a great relief to make them come true. His life finally has meaning. Happiness lives in short moments in life, shining through instants, gone the moment you blink, Judal understands this. But today, Judal is a happy boy.


End file.
